As used herein, saddle type vehicles are intended to mean and to encompass any unenclosed vehicle which supports a rider in a position straddling a frame-mounted seat, including for example but without limitation two-wheeled vehicles such as bicycles and motorcycles and three-wheeled or four-wheeled vehicles such as so-called ATVs (all terrain vehicles).
Many such saddle-type vehicles are designed and intended for, and commonly used in, so-called off-road work, recreational and racing activities over unpaved trails and undeveloped terrain. As one example, motocross races between competing motorcycles follow winding, hilly and sharply turning off-road courses over undeveloped raw terrain.
During a motocross race, the soil of the race course typically becomes agitated and churned as competitors operate their motorcycles at high speeds and take turns at extreme angles. Off-road motorcycles used in motocross races are provided with foot pegs mounted to opposite sides of the vehicle frame, which riders use not just as foot rests but also as standing supports to assist in leaning and steering the motorcycles. The foot pegs are typically pivoted and spring-loaded to yield to any contact with the terrain under such conditions and, then to automatically spring back into place. Unfortunately, however, mud, dirt and other debris can be thrown into the pivot mounting locations for the foot pegs which may hinder or even completely overcome the ability of the foot pegs to spring back into proper operating position.
While this problem has been known for some time, a satisfactory solution has yet to be developed. In some off-road motorcycles, a deflector may be mounted forwardly of the foot pegs to attempt to intercept dirt, mud and debris thrown toward the foot pegs. Such deflectors may partially mitigate but are unable to prevent debris from entering the mounting locations for the foot pegs, so at best deflectors only somewhat delay the effects of debris.